This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Caution: Danger Ahead

Toronto's transit planning is stuck is because the buck stops nowhere -- not even with Metrolinx, the overseeing agency, has the power or drive to decide much, writes Thomas Klasse

Toronto transit expansion, stalled for decades, suffers from having no lead agency advocating a master plan. (David Cooper / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

By Thomas Klassen

Mon., Aug. 27, 2012

In mid-2009 as part of its economic stimulus package, the federal and provincial governments gave Toronto $7 million to develop a recreational trail across the hydro corridor that runs just north of Finch Avenue. The federal government stipulated the trail must be finished by March 2011.

That the trail remains unfinished a year-and-a-half after its completion date is a warning about the city’s future.

Toronto’s messy and fractured transportation planning and implementation process is often attributed to the nature of democracy. In other words, any project takes a long time because public debate is essential and because bureaucrats, engineers and other experts must be allowed the freedom to proceed as they determine is best.

However, that is argument is flawed. European countries expand their transportation systems quickly, as do other democratic countries such as Japan and Korea.

In cities where public transportation expansion is a priority, one agency — reporting to one level of government — is put in charge. The buck stops at one desk.

Article Continued Below

In Toronto, the opposite is the case. The Toronto Transit Commission is building a subway expansion to the York University, but a very similar project — the Eglinton light rail rapid transit line — is being built by the province. Meanwhile the City of Toronto rebuilds the main transit hub: Union Station.

Most projects, like the recreational trail, are cobbled together with money from Ottawa, the province and municipal governments. The result is that no one level of government or agency is in charge. Political and bureaucratic infighting, turf wars, and feet dragging are rampant.

The problem was recognized in 2006 when Queen’s Park created Metrolinx, an agency of the province, to co-ordinate transportation in the greater Toronto area.

Metrolinx is in charge of building some of the new transportation routes in Toronto and also operates GO transit. It has also been trying to implement — after a long battle with the TTC — a single rechargeable transit card so that transit riders can move seamlessly within and between different transit systems in the GTA.

As Metrolinx struggles to get the card implemented, other cities around the world allow citizens to use their transit cards not only on local buses and subways, but also for taxis, parking meters, intercity trains and buses and convenience stores. The best of these systems do not even require a separate card, but work solely with a smartphone, existing credit card or student card.

That kind of convenience and innovation is not likely to be seen in Toronto for decades.

Why does it matter if Toronto moves slowly and inefficiently in expanding its transit system? After all, isn’t Toronto still growing and attractive to immigrants?

A city is like a cake in an oven. If the conditions are not right a disaster can happen in a short time. Toronto is less attractive to immigrants now than in the past. Even with the Euro crisis, there is no flood of Irish, Greeks or Portuguese willing to move to Toronto.

Immigrants are still eager to come from less developed countries, but those numbers will decline soon as more Chinese and Indians join the middle class.

Moreover, Toronto is no longer in the sweet spot it was before. Housing is expensive, transportation slow and costly. Calgary with its booming energy market and global ties, especially to Asia, looks especially attractive to immigrants these days, particularly those with entrepreneurial skills.

As to the recreation trail that began this article? It remains unfinished and unusable because it crosses a GO rail line that is owned by Metrolinx — the very agency that’s supposed to be tying the region together. The line cannot be crossed without Metrolinx’s permission.

City of Toronto staff say they’ve signed an agreement with Metrolinx almost a year ago to build the crossing. Metrolinx states it is still working on allowing the city to build the crossing. The federal government says that since its funds have been spent, it no longer has a role. The province states approving the crossing is the responsibility of Metrolinx.

No politician or bureaucrat is willing to venture to say when the rail crossing will be built. The buck stops nowhere, and a blame game is underway.

That such a small project flounders so badly, and will take twice as long to complete as planned, is a sure sign of danger. Securing Toronto’s future calls for the buck to stop at a single desk, not be passed along or dropped.

Thomas Klassen is an associate professor in political science at York University, and a former urban planner.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com